Olympic and world champion Neeraj Chopra finished second at the Doha Diamond League meeting javelin throw event as his big final effort of 88.36m fell short by two centimeters of Jakub Vadlejch’s winning effort in Doha last week.
The 26-year-old Chopra trailed Czech Republic veteran Vadlejch - who won the title with his third round throw of 88.38m - all through the competition.
Chopra made a last ditch effort but his final round throw fell 2 cm short of Vadlejch’s mark as the Indian superstar failed to defend the title he had won last year. Two-time world champion Anderson Peters took the third sport with a best throw of 86.62m.
Kishore Jena’s Diamond League debut ended in disappointment as he was eliminated after three rounds of throws, with 76.31m being his best. He began with a 75.72m, then fouled his second effort, before coming up with 76.31m to be at ninth after three throws each by all the 10 competitors.
The 28-year-old Jena has a personal best of 87.54m, a performance that fetched him a silver medal in the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, but it was not his day on Friday last.
Vadlejch had won a silver in the Tokyo Olympics and a bronze in the 2023 World Championships, the two events in which Chopra had won gold. Chopra had won the 2023 Doha Diamond League with a throw of 88.67m, ahead of Vadlejch (88.63) and Peters (85.88m).
